Only a Matter of Time
Renee85~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you so much for all the kind words, I love all you guys so much. Sorry for the delay but here it finally is. There will be more goodness next update.
PART EIGHT (Wait For Me)Willow smiled and tenderly brought her lips to Tara's, feeling the blonde kiss her back. Willow's hand pulled the other woman closer, and Tara did the same. It was a quick but tenderly loving kiss.
"I guess you kept your promise." Tara said when they pulled away from each other.
Willow gave Tara a confused look, her brow furrowed.
"You said that you'd take care of me." the blonde gently reminded Willow, smiling softly. "I guess you did."
Willow couldn’t help but laugh at that, a contented and euphoric kind of laugh that brought warm gooseflesh throughout both women’s bodies, she remembered uttering those words, she remembered that particular and specific moment with pristine and unmistakable clarity, the words that she had uttered came straight from the bottom of her heart, through her soul and self, and eventually into Tara’s every being, never to let go.
“I never let go of a promise.” Willow whispered quietly, her voice so soft that she was sure that no one other than Tara had heard her, no one else in the world. “Your brother is going to be fine.” The redhead stressed her words firmly, their foreheads still pressed together. “He is stronger than you give him credit for, you just need to have faith in the fact that time is what it takes to heal, that along with determination and strength of heart will pull him through, and you along with him.”
“Are you sure about that?” Tara gently unwrapped herself from Willow's arms, not wanting to but she couldn't help but feel her heart break at the millions of possibilities that might transpire if things didn’t go the way they imagined it would, if by some chance that her brother might never be the same again. “Do you have a crystal ball that could predict the future? Do you have magical powers that can tell me for sure?”
“No magic.” Willow shook her head firmly, her sea green depths never leaving its hold onto sapphire blue. “But I do have faith.” The redhead stated matter of factly. “And if you ask me, that’s pretty much the only thing you really need, you need to have faith in the world and the world around you and you need to have faith that your brother has the will to get through this, you need to believe in your heart and soul that everything is going to go the way you think it will because that’s the only way you will get through this, you have to BELIEVE it and eventually it will come true.”
"How can you know?" Tara was still full of uncertainty and trepidation, even after that moment of happiness, the tears in her eyes silently slipping down her face as her emotions enveloped her entire being, overwhelming her very soul.
The blonde slowly turned away, her back towards the redhead as she faced the wall ahead of her, silently staring at the colorless, slender arms wrapping around herself in a firm hold.
"Tara..."
"Thank you Willow... for taking care of me when you didn't have to and goddess that kiss was unbelievable but how can you really know that having faith can make anything come true?” Tara wanted to know, she needed to know.
A beat.
“Because mine came true.”
Tara suddenly stopped breathing at that moment, holding her breath in as she registered those four words, words that had come out of Willow's lips, a redhead that she hadn't even known anything about until today...until this instant.
The blonde slowly turned her body towards Willow, her deep blue eyes filling with warm tears; a mixture of happy and sad meshed together, a look of flabbergasted astonishment gracing her face as she stared deeply into pools of emerald green.
"Go on a date with me." Willow spilled out, her eyes still locked into the darkest blue she has ever seen, the color of the deepest ocean. "Go on a date with me tonight, Tara."
"I hardly know you." Tara answered cautiously, she didn't know why she was suddenly being cautious because she had just totally kissed this woman in the middle of the hallway without even knowing the redhead's first name, but the apprehension swiftly shone through. But Tara managed to push that aside, taking a small step closer to Willow.
A date sounded like the best idea in the entire world, every pore in her body wanted to go out on a date with this redhead, every singe inch of her consciousness felt like she had to, the pleading and anticipating eyes of green that stared back at her made her yearn for it, it was as if this woman in front of her held some kind of mystical power in her mind and soul that MADE her want to say yes, and made her want to say yes forever.
"You knew me enough to ask me to kiss you." Willow smiled, taking another step closer to the woman in front of her, her careful movements slow and measured so she wouldn't appear too eager and pushy, she didn’t ever want to force or pressure Tara to do anything that she hadn’t wanted to do herself. "I knew you enough to kiss you back."
Tara said nothing for the next few seconds, the seconds felt like an eternity but Willow would wait for an eternity and a half for the blonde. Willow stood there in silence, quietly awaiting an answer, patiently anticipating the other woman's next words, the redhead held her breath in and waited.
“Yes.” Tara stated slowly, her slender hands instinctively burying itself inside soft crimson colored tresses, their faces back together again, their foreheads pressed against the other, their mouths so close that both girls could hear the other breathe in and out and out and in again, a steady stream of life.
"Yes?" Willow dipped her head a bit, trying to catch Tara's eyes, needing to make sure that she had actually agreed to a date. "Really, you really mean that?"
"Yes, I'll go on a date with you." the blonde said again, slim fingers stroking soft reddish hair, featherlike touches that felt like she was touching heaven. "Goddess, I can't believe I'm doing this." she softly chuckled, not really believing that all this had happened, this was the fastest she has ever kissed anyone. “But for some crazy reason it just feels right.”
Willow’s smile glimmered vibrantly as she heard Tara's words, this one short moment with the blonde already felt one thousand times better than the entire two and a half years with Sarah, that one quick kiss that they shared enveloped more emotion and passion than any kiss she has ever experienced, and all that came from someone she knew nothing about, but their hearts seemed to know each other forever, forever and a day.
Willow took Tara’s hand into her own and Tara squeezed her hand back, a silent promise.
“So, do you want to come back now?” Willow asked after a moment, turning her body to the hospital room behind them, taking a few steps backwards, but their hands were still joined together. “Your brother asked me to bring you back and I’m sure he’s wondering why we’re taking so long.” The smaller woman fiddled with her ear nervously as she tried to figure out what to say or do next. “Or what we’re doing.”
Tara nodded and smiled, imagining all the things that must me going through Donnie's mind right now.
“Are you ready or do you want to hang out for awhile?" Willow questioned Tara, her green eyes still gazing intently into blue, something so deep and sparkling was too hard to look away from and she didn't want to.
“I just want to take this all in first.” Tara affirmed softly, their hands were still linked together; lean fingers intermingled in an unyielding and loving embrace. “My heart is kind of beating really fast right.” The fair-haired woman affirmed in a whisper.
“Then we’ll stay here for awhile.” Willow nodded her head matter of factly, feeling Tara pull her in. Willow gently rested her forehead against Tara's and they stood like that for the longest comfortable moment, right in the middle of the hospital corridor, both silently helping the other through, taking every single overwhelming and intense emotion that were enveloping their bodies in.
*****
The Maclay’s were completely silent as they headed to Sunnydale Memorial Hospital; the car ride had been partly composed of a kind of peaceful quiet and an uneasy fidgeting and restless anxiousness.
Steve was in the driver’s seat with a stoic expression on his face while Lila sat in the front passenger seat, her blue eyes never leaving the sight to the right of her, her azure pools scanning the various trees and verdant green that was there. Lila let out an audible deep sigh before turning back to the road ahead of her, they were almost there, and the entire time neither of them said a word, not one single utter of speech.
Steve registered the sigh and his head briefly turned to his right, the corner of his eye catching the sight of his wife whose gaze was still on the road. Steve studied to woman’s face for a brief moment before returning his attention ahead of him, his hands and fingers clutching the globular steering wheel securely.
Lila sighed again, unconsciously this time; her thoughts were going a mile a minute in her brain, seemingly endless.
Steve glanced at his right once more at the sound of his wife. “What is it?”
“Do you remember when Tara and Donnie used to wake up early Saturday morning and make breakfast for us?” Lila asked suddenly, her mind in deep thought, turning her head to the left slightly so she could see her husband. Steve just nodded faintly. “They were too young to really cook anything and they couldn’t actually reach the stove so Donnie and Tara would grab a few bowls from the kitchen and fill it up with cereal.”
Steve nodded again, this time softly as his eyes were still to the road in front of him.
Lila laughed a bit as she remembered the moment, almost like it was yesterday. “They’d wake us up early in the morning; it wasn’t even five o’clock. Donnie would pounce on both of us, and Tara would wake you up by squeezing your nose with her little fingers.” She recalled the memory, her eyes sparkling as she did so. “You’d pull little Tara in your arms and tickle her to death and Donnie would be bouncing in the middle of the bed, his little face beaming with happiness.”
“It was so much easier then.” Steve replied, letting out a deep sigh.
“I think we made a mistake.”
“You mean I made a mistake.” Steve corrected, nodding his head. “Lila, we had to do what we had to do.”
Lila let out a breath and went back to the window beside her, brushing him off abruptly.
Silence once again shrouded the two Maclay’s, the stillness and quiet of the interior vehicle causing a sudden unease in Steve’s entire being.
The older man roughly let out a frustrated breath and turned to wife one final time, his chocolate colored pools staring at the distant form of his significant other, the woman he had been married to for the longest time, seemingly an eternity, the woman he had chosen to have children with, the woman he used to be in love with, the woman who used to be in love with him.
“Can you please tell me what you’re thinking, Lila?” he asked in a snappish tone. “You know how that upsets me.”
Lila brushed him off once more, knowing in her heart that whatever she said would only upset her husband even more, knowing in her heart that if she said anything to him that he didn’t agree with would only cause him to be enraged with anger, there seemed to be no way out.
Steve wasn’t the same Steve she married almost two decades ago, he wasn’t the same man she had known and loved, he wasn’t anything to her anymore and the more and more she thought about that made her really wonder why she was still in the marriage and why she had let this man sway her opinions about their daughter and the best way things were to have been handled.
Because the truth was…they were wrong and she knew that in her heart, she knew it in her soul.
Steve turned his head to his right one more time, his face twitching with growing intensity and anger, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. He noticed that his wife was still in the corner of the passenger seat, obviously ignoring him.
“Are you telling me that we shouldn’t have done what we did, that we just let Tara ruin her life and future?” he demanded tersely. “The lifestyle she has chosen for herself is an abomination of God and I will not have that in my home, I will also not have in my daughter, and I will not have that in my family.” He declared adamantly, his attention completely off the road as his hands were busy gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his fingers and palm were turning a shade of red, green veins popping out of his skin slightly, bulging in anger. “She will ruin her life.”
“WE’RE ruining hers.” Lila pointed out matter of factly, her eyes glued to her husband’s piercing brown depths.
Steve looked at his wife with a hard stare.
“Think about it Steve. Tara has a good life…she graduated college, she’s successful in her job, she living on her own and paying her own way, she’s a bright young woman with a beaming future and all you’re doing is making a big deal about her sexuality which shouldn’t even be an issue.” She stated in a rushing tone, saying all the things that were roaming though her mind for the past four weeks since that fateful day. “Why the hell did we kick her out in the first place?”
“To SHOW her.” Steve sputtered out, he was so angry now that his eyes hadn’t even glanced at the road ahead of him, his gaze was completely to his wife.
Lila’s eyes widened when she saw that their car was swerving to the side and off the lane, she hadn’t even the time to think or compose herself enough to act fast when a vehicle on the on the oncoming lane roughly pounded at their horn. The loud piercing sound was enough for Steve’s attention to be lifted.
Steve finally got control of the steering wheel in the nick of time, narrowly avoiding a collision. “Fuck!” Steve bellowed out, slamming his hands on the base of the steering wheel in fury. “Goddamn it!”
“You could have killed us!” Lila cried out, her heart pounding in her chest in rapid paces, unable to believe what almost happened. “Can you just drive and not let all these emotions get in the way right now?” his wide demanded, tightening her seat belt considerably. “I shouldn’t even have mentioned it.”
“So you just want me to let Tara be a lesbian, let her live in a way that will most likely shatter her life and futures and ours in the process?” Steve gripped the steering wheel forcefully, his knuckles turning a shade of colorless white.
Lila could only listen.
“She won’t ever be married, I won’t ever be there to walk her down that aisle, and I’m never, ever going to have a son in law.” The older man listed out all he reasons he thought were beneficial to his objective. “I’m never ever going to have that and it breaks my fucking heart.”
“What do you have now?” Lila questioned her husband. “Is having all that more important than having a daughter?”
Steve said nothing as he looked at the road ahead of him, he really didn’t know the answer, and he hadn’t the urge to figure it out.
*****
Willow and Tara continued to hold each other in the middle of the hallway, a consoling and comforting embrace that warmed and calmed both women’s aching and hammering hearts, their heartbeats slowing in rhythm as the warmth of their bodies soothed their souls.
Willow’s hand clutched at the blonde’s shoulders gently, her slim digits digging into the soft fabric of the other woman’s blouse, their warm foreheads pressed together tenderly, face to face, heart to heart, and even if they didn’t know it yet, soul to soul.
“Are you ready to go back in?” Willow asked after their long comfortable silence had passed, silent reflecting. The redhead pulled away slightly and caught Tara’s eyes, trying to sense any indication that the other woman had any sign of apprehension, if Tara was really okay. “Are you all right now, is your heart still beating really fast?”
“It’s better now.” Tara lifted her head and stared into deep pools of green, the emerald color of the greenest hillside, of the brightest patch of grass the world has ever seen, sea green orbs that seemed to hold an endless circumference of bottomless depths.
When Tara looked into the redhead’s eyes the only thing she could see was an overflowing amount of honesty, thoughtful compassion, and genuine adoration. Willow’s soul was pure and she knew in her heart that she could and would always be able to trust her. “I’m better now.”
“Okay.” Willow smiled and stepped back, allowing the blonde free space to the hospital room. The redhead laid a gentle hand on Tara’s shoulder briefly before pulling her hand back and placing it into her jacket pocket, the urge to keep her hand on the blonde‘s shoulder was undeniable but she also understood that there had to be barriers for the pristine reason that heir relationship towards each other hadn’t yet been established and she wasn’t going to rush whatever potential they had for the future.
Sure they kissed but she wasn’t about to presume anything prematurely, they needed to figure this out together, if there really was anything to figure out.
Willow trailed behind Tara, a soft smile gracing her face as she watched the blonde woman walk into the nearby hospital room, just a few doors away. When they both reached Donnie’s room she saw Tara’s eyes soften, her blue orbs sparkling.
“Look who I brought back.” Willow stated in a singsong voice, smiling sweetly.
“Tare.” Donnie smiled from his position on the hospital bed as he saw his sister step into the room, an embarrassed half-smile on the blonde’s face. “What took you so long?”
Tara blushed hotly and dipped her head, no words could come out.
Tracy tilted her head and turned to her husband, her eyes widening slightly as she motioned to the redhead. Donnie caught his wife’s look and smiled devilishly, a pleased grin gracing his face in an instant, Tracy seemed to carry the same look.
A mixture of smugness and satisfaction that only made Tara flush deep red even more than she already was, the color of the blonde’s cheeks mimicked the color of Willow crimson tresses, a blush of scarlet.
Donnie turned his attention to Willow and smiled a half-smile as well, shaking his head in amusement. “I asked you bring Tara back, I didn’t ask you to go smooching on my sister.” The police officer chuckled in amusement, shaking his head. “But I think Tara needed that.”
“I…We…” Willow uttered out but couldn’t find the rest of her words; it caught in her throat even as she tried to let it out. “We were just…”
“Shut up, Donnie.” Tara stated playfully as she moved to sit beside him, leaning in to grab her brother in a soft hug. Donnie hugged the blonde back, squeezing softly. “How are you?” she asked him as she pulled away, their hands joining together in an instant. “Are you doing better?”
“I will be.” Donnie nodded. “And you?”
“Willow and I are going out on a date tonight.” Tara beamed, turning behind her to catch the redhead’s eyes. Willow smiled softly and nodded her head in silent agreement, walking towards the blonde and bravely placing a hand over Tara's shoulder, the blonde welcomed the touch and placed her warm palm on top of the redhead's, a silent promise.
"Where will you guys be meeting for the date?" Tracy smiled at the two women, her fingers picking at the bed sheet that surrounded Donnie. "There's a really great place near Redbrook Avenue called Ivy Cafe that I think would be great."
"Oh, you should go there." Donnie nudged at his sister's shoulder, urging her on. "Tracy and I had a blast when we first went there, it's a great place to talk and eat, it's really peaceful."
"I'll meet you there?" Tara lifted her eyebrows to the redhead, hopeful eyes gazing back.
"I'll be there." Willow smiled.
In the background stood dark haired woman eavesdropping in their conversation, an evil smile gracing her face. Sarah sighed in satisfaction, rubbing her palms together as an idea popped through her brain. Willow wasn't going to move on that easily, not if she had anything to do with it. Sarah watched as her ex-girlfriend briefly hugged the blonde beside her, with a small smile, the brunette left the hall.
~~~~~~~~
To Be Continued
"The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that for you the world is transformed." -J. Krishnamurti
by littlecrazy80 » Sat Jan 17, 2004 12:41 pm 
. Can't wait to see more. Great job. =) 
I don't like Sarah, she is going to cause problems.
Wow, they kissed!!! That was so *sigh* lovely. 
Thanks for the feedback.
My thinking is that Tara deserves a good brother and goodness in every aspect in her life as well. The locket idea popped into my head in the heat of the moment, but I had to write it down because it cracked me up too. Thanks for the feedback, it means the world. 
BUt there will absolutley be more Willow and Tara kisses, and maybe more of something else. 
I can't have that happen Willow's best friend can I? Thank you for the feedback, especially the one on spreading wings, the page went to page two way too quickly...
Parents always come around don't they, it's really a matter of time, hence the title. Thanks for the feedback, I hope to update soon.
Hey to you back... Yup, they kissed, kind of a Spreading Wings de ja vu but what can you do, I NEEDED them to kiss. As far as Sarah...don't be mad at me if I do bring her back for a few fight scenes, Buffy may really use her bat this time, or maybe Tara....
)
Enough said, lol.
at: 1/19/04 8:00 pm
at: 1/21/04 2:48 pm
i love it. cant wait to see what happens next
Thank you for the feedback.